Surprise!
by DamiaMulder
Summary: Wes gets picked on a little, but nothing bad. Enjoy.


Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, though I really wish I did. I am making no money off of this story, unfortunately. Any familiar characters are property of their respective owners. Any others are probably mine. Enjoy. ;)  
  
  
Author's Note: Again, due to an ancient word processor, all thoughts will be in ~ ~, and strong emotion or anything else that would normally be in italics will be in * *. Thank you for your patience.  
  
  
Surprise!  
by DamiaMulder  
  
  
"Hey! Where is everyone?" Wes Janson called into the darkened lounge. He paused in the doorway and called again. "Hell-oo! Is there anyone in there?" He'd ben nervous about dark, empty rooms since last week. Rogue Squadron had just gotten a new pilot a few days before and Wes had decided to greet her in his usual way--with a practical joke. He'd always heard the saying, 'What goes around, comes around,' but hadn't really believed it. He began to two days after his prank.  
  
Lt. Kari Serral, the new pilot must have been very busy that day after she'd been had. Wes figured she must have a lot of resources and contacts in high places in order to pull the prank she had. ~She must've had help,~ he thought. ~So far, only Wedge has been able to embarrass me like that.~ He was jolted out of his thoughts by the sound of booted feet coming his way.  
  
"Ah-ha!" a voice rang out. "Just the lieutenant I wanted to see!"  
  
Wes cringed slightly and turned around. Kari Serral was somewhat below average height--she came up to just below Janson's nose, causing her to have to look up to almost all of the pilots in the squadron. Her long, glossy black hair had been pulled back in a loose ponytail, exposing her ears, which were slightly pointed.  
  
What unnerved him now was the light dancing in her sapphire-blue eyes.  
  
"What's the matter, Janson? Afraid of a dark room? Aren't you over that? Come on, I'm not planning anything else until and unless you play another prank. Let's go."  
  
"Go where?" he asked as she grabbed his arm and started pulling him along. "Where are we going, Serral?" Her only answer was an odd grin.  
  
Kari led him through a maze of corridors so quickly that he soon gave up trying to figure out where they were headed and just let her lead. Finally, they stopped in front of a door. Kari punched in an access code and the door slid open to reveal. . .  
  
A dark, seemingly empty room.  
  
By this time, Janson had regained his bearings and realized that they were back where they started. He was suddenly propelled into the room, followed by Kari. She grabbed his arm again and he jumped. He cursed and turned to face what he thought would be the other lieutenant. He was met by a pair of eyes glinting like corusca gems in the dark.  
  
"Emperor's Black Bones, you're jumpy, Janson. Follow me," Kari instructed.  
  
"I can't see."  
  
"Fine. I'll guide you. I keep forgetting you humans can't see in the dark," she said, sounding amused.  
  
"Aren't you human?"  
  
"Not exactly. I'm not sure what our race-name is because we're pretty much wiped out. Those that remain can't remember. No matter. Now be quiet."  
  
They threaded their way through the lounge and stopped at another door. A red light glowed eerily at about chest height. Janson heard a series of quick beeps, then the light turned green and the door hissed open.  
  
Kari pulled him into that room and the door slid shut again. She led him to an open space and told him to stay there until she came back. "Don't worry. I won't be gone long. Just *stay put*." He heard a door open and shut, and sighed.  
  
"'I won't be gone long' my foot. I could be standing here for hours. I wonder what I did." He shifted from foot to foot and sighed again. "I have better things to do than stand here waiting for someone who may never come back for me." By this time, he was able to make out dim shapes of the room's furnishings. He'd almost made his way to the door, when his ahnd brushed up against something soft and warm. He jumped back, his legs hitting a low table and dumping him unceremoniously onto his back on the other side of the table.  
  
It probably wouldn't have been so bad if the lights hadn't come on at the exact moment his back connected with the deck. A second later, both doors to the room had snapped open and Wes could hear feet walking across the deck toward him. Blinded by the sudden lighting, Wes scrambled to his feet and blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision before whoever had come into the room got to him. But by the time his eyes were cooperating again, he felt an hand on his shoulder behind him.  
  
"I thought I told you to stay put."  
  
"Kari?"  
  
"Last I checked, yes." She dropped her hand and swung around in front of him. "Okay, it's all set. Let's go get a drink."  
  
Her grin was wider than usual and the cheerfulness in her voice suggested she was up to something. "Why?" he asked, suspicious. "What are you going to do to me?"  
  
Surprise flickered across her face. ~So she's not plotting anything, but she *is* up to *something*. Wonder what.~ "I'm not going to do anything to you. I just suggested we get a drink. Let's go."  
  
"As ordered." As they crossed the base to DownTime, they talked about various pranks they'd pulled.  
  
". . .and the look on his face! You just had to be there. It looked something like a cross between a surprised tauntaun and a crazed nerf. I almost felt sorry for him, but he'd sliced a message into my commanding officer's datapad and implicated me. I know he did it as a joke, but it was apparently a very personal message, so I just had to get him back. Well, here we are."  
  
DownTime was normally dimly lit, so nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The place was packed, but somehow a path opened for them all the way to the bar. Janson thought this odd, but took it in stride. As he sat down at the bar, a spotlight shone down on him and he froze. ~What now?~ He glanced over at Kari, who had a huge grin on her face. She was still standing, and pulled him back up, too.  
  
She gave Janson's arm a tug, leading him to a knot of pilots. Wedge Antilles stepped up and slapped Janson on the back. "Happy Birthday, Wes."  
  
Kari hopped up on a chair and called out, "Everyone say 'Happy Birthday' to Lieutenant Janson!" Wes was treated to backslaps, handshakes, and drinks, as well as a chorus of 'Happy Birthday's. He grinned and accepted all the little comments and such without complaint, and was finally allowed to escape to his quarters.  
  
Which were completely dark.  
  
~I know I left a little light on in here. *Oh, no.*~ He thought back to the party he'd just escaped from. The last he had seen of Kari Serral was of the doors to DownTime closing behind her *as she was leaving.* He sighed, then jumped as hands clapped over his eyes form behind.  
  
"Guess who!" a woman's voice, soft and rich, said into his ear.  
  
"Serral."  
  
"Hmm. Too easy. I'll have to find someone else to do that next time." Her hands dropped and he turned around till he saw her eyes.  
  
"Why do you always pick on me? Why not Face or Wedge or someone else?"  
  
"I don't pick on Commander Antilles because of the fact that he is my commanding officer and a higher rank. Loran, too, but also because he's got Dia to pick on him. Most everyone else gets pranked by you. Noone really picks on you, so that's why *I* do. There are other reasons, too, but I really can't go into them."  
  
"Can't, or won't?"  
  
"I guess it's more 'won't' than 'can't'. My mother was the biggest prankster I've met yet. She'd pull pranks on *everyone*, including the bounty hunters after her before Boba Fett got her. I learned most of the tricks I play from her. And those that I've already done, I most likely won't do again. I've still got some good one in the bag, but the *really* good tricks require more than just me to do."  
  
"Well, then, I guess I won't have to worry about those for a while. By the way, who was in the pilots' lounge when you came in?"  
  
"Oh, that would be Tyria Sarkin. She moves silently, so I thought I'd ask her to help me. We had to keep you there long enough for Commander Antilles to get everything ready. Actually, this was all his idea, he just got me to keep you away for a while."  
  
"Why, I oughtta. . ."  
  
"I wouldn't suggest it, Wes. It's usually not a good idea to pull pranks on senior officers. And besides, if you do, he'll just pull a bigger one on you, maybe with my help. Then you'd hate me. I don't want to be hated.  
  
"Well I ought to be going. Oh, yeah. Here's your little light back." She turned to leave, then spontaneously turned around, threw both arms around his neck, and gave him a quick kiss. "Happy Birthday, Wes Janson," she whispered in his ear as she let go. Then she was gone, before he could say anything.  
  
Surprised and a little pleased, Janson rubbed the spot on his cheek where Kari had kissed him and said, "Wonder what *that* was all about."  
  
  
Fin 


End file.
